Secure manufacturing of programmable devices

1. A method of manufacturing a programmable logic device having a plurality of logic blocks, comprising:

grouping the logic blocks into two or more partitions;

and inserting specific operating instructions into a logic unit of the programmable logic device to control external access to the two or more partitions, control programming of the two or more partitions and control operation of and interconnection between the two or more partitions during operation of the programmable logic device;

wherein inserting specific operating instructions into the logic unit to control operation of and interconnection between the two or more partitions during operation of the programmable logic device comprises inserting specific operating instructions into the logic unit to control how the two or more partitions access a shared resource of the programmable logic device.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

storing authentication information in the programmable logic device for use by the logic unit to control external access to the two or more partitions; and

storing partition information in the programmable logic device for use by the logic unit to control programming of the two or more partitions and control operation of and interconnection between the two or more partitions during operation of the programmable logic device.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising authenticating access to the programmable logic device based on the authentication information before permitting storage of the partition information.

4. The method of claim 2 , comprising storing the partition information in a table accessible by the logic unit.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein inserting specific operating instructions into the logic unit comprises programming firmware associated with the logic unit.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising authenticating an entity attempting to access the logic unit based on a master authentication key included with the firmware.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising authenticating an entity attempting to upload partition information to the programmable logic device based on one or more partition authentication keys included with the firmware.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein inserting specific operating instructions into the logic unit comprises inserting specific operating instructions for a secure microcontroller component included in the programmable logic device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein inserting specific operating instructions into the logic unit comprises inserting the specific operating instructions into a secure non-volatile memory included in the programmable logic device.

10. A programmable logic device, comprising:

a plurality of logic blocks grouped into two or more partitions;

and a fabric management controller circuit configured to control external access to the two or more partitions, control programming of the two or more partitions and control operation of and interconnection between the two or more partitions during operation of the programmable logic device;

wherein the fabric management controller circuit is configured to control how the two or more partitions access a shared resource of the programmable logic device.

11. The programmable logic device of claim 10 , further comprising: memory configured to store authentication information for use by the fabric management controller circuit to control external access to the two or more partitions and partition information for use by the fabric management controller circuit to control programming of the two or more partitions and control operation of and interconnection between the two or more partitions during operation of the programmable logic device.

12. The programmable logic device of claim 11 , wherein the fabric management controller circuit is configured to authenticate access to the programmable logic device based on the authentication information before permitting storage of the partition information.

13. The programmable logic device of claim 11 , wherein the memory comprises a table accessible by the fabric management controller circuit.

14. The programmable logic device of claim 10 , wherein the fabric management controller circuit includes firmware.

15. The programmable logic device of claim 14 , wherein the fabric management controller circuit is configured to authenticate an entity attempting to access the fabric management controller circuit based on a master authentication key included with the firmware.

16. The programmable logic device of claim 14 , wherein the fabric management controller circuit is configured to authenticate an entity attempting to upload partition information to the programmable logic device based on one or more partition authentication keys included with the firmware.

17. The programmable logic device of claim 10 , wherein the fabric management controller circuit comprises a secure microcontroller.

18. The programmable logic device of claim 10 , wherein the fabric management controller circuit comprises secure non-volatile memory.

19. A programmable logic device, comprising:

a plurality of logic blocks grouped into two or more partitions;

and means for controlling external access to the two or more partitions, controlling programming of the two or more partitions and controlling operation of and interconnection between the two or more partitions during operation of the programmable logic device;

means for and inserting specific operating instructions into a logic unit of the programmable logic device to control external access to the two or more partitions,

means for inserting specific operating instructions into the logic unit to control operation of and interconnection between the two or more partitions during operation of the programmable logic device comprises inserting specific operating instructions into the logic unit to control how the two or more partitions access a shared resource of the programmable logic device.